Bimmers Vs LandSpeeders, and how to get out of the sand

It wasn't quite yet summer. The temperature the other day topped at 41 degrees. The weather forecast called for 70 percent chance of precipitation, and for once it was accurate. Most of the day was cloudy, rainy, windy and cold. Nonetheless we jumped in the 318is and went to the beach anyway. A spontaneous road trip can add a bit of sun to any dreary day.

The 318is handled perfectly for the trip. All the recent restoration work made the ride smooth and worry free. The only complaint for the 318is is the same complaint that I've had on every car, my coffee mug doesn't fit into the cup holder. On the bimmer there are two holes in the center console. It would be nice if at least one of the two spaces in the center console fit my travel cup, and the other hole was the perfect size to hold a Tim Horton's jelly donut. Now that would be a sweet upgrade. I heard a rumor that BMW sells a trademarked coffee mug that fits in their console holders, so I'll have to add that to my next Christmas list.

Since it was rainy and chilly all day, we divided our time between walking on the sand until we'd start to shiver, then jump in the Bimmer to get warm as we drove to another stretch of beach. We also found a few Geocaches while we were at the beach. Overall it was a very eventful and fun day. In between walks we got a chance to get some great shots of the 318is.

In the middle of the afternoon we drove to the furthest little peninsula that we could find on the map. The Bimmer seemed to be moving across the sand like a Star Wars LandSpeeder. I was quite impressed and made the mistake of an out loud comment about it without first knocking on wood, and gave the accelerator just a bit more gas. Of course not ten seconds later the back tires sank into the soft wet sand and the car stopped moving forward as the wheels kept spinning. We were stuck. It took us a few minutes to get driving again, but that's only because we waited for some other beachcombers to pass by and save our beach cred reputation for the Bimmer. Anyway the pause gave us a chance to get some more great photos, this time of seagulls flying over the waves.

If you ever wind up stuck in a big pile of sand or snow, here's some helpful tips:
-Straighten the front wheels.
-Dig out any of the excess sand or snow from both the front and back of the tires, and try to form a gradual slope from the tire to the level ground. If there are pieces of wood or rocks around, you can put those into the slope to help give you tires some better traction. If you cant find anything that's ok. We couldn't find anything nearby at the beach where we got stuck.
-Get back in the car, and make sure everyone outside is away from the front and rear of the car.
-Start the engine, put the car in drive, and gently give it some gas.
-Then put the car in reverse, and gently give it some gas.
-Repeat these last two steps again and again.
-Be careful to go easily with the gas. The idea is to create a rocking motion that will eventually rock the car right out the sand or snow rut. Just remember: The force is with you.

Didn't leave the beach park until nightfall. Stopped at a diner, ate some yummy food, checked the fluids on the 318is and headed back to the city. Hit some thick patches of fog on the way back, but was able to see fine thanks to finally getting the fog lights to work. But that's for another article. For now I'm just enjoying the photos and smiling at the Bimmer's gas gauge. Been back in the city for two days and still on the same tank of gas that I filled up at the beach.

Power Window Only Goes Up and Down in 1 inch Increments - Repair

Power window problems are common in the E36.
Your windows were working fine, smoothly traveling up and down with the push of the button, happily letting in the nice outside air, until one day out of nowhere one or both of the windows now only move in small increments. Decision time: Do it yourself or spend your next paycheck at the repair shop.

Please note that this repair applies only to the problem of the window movement in 1 inch increments. If your windows have stopped working altogether, stop reading this, then check your fuses, the comfort relay, window switches, wiring, etc.

This is a relatively easy do-it-yourself repair, it should only take a few determined hours on a nice sunny day to complete. By doing it yourself you'll save anywhere from under $100 for a used motor to over $500 for a shop to install a new motor. Cost of this DIY project: approximately $4.

The first step is to carefully remove your door panels, making sure your windows are all the way up before starting the job. Start with the two screws behind the handle, then gently pry off the panel clips with a plastic trim remover tool. If you don't have one try a plastic fork. Take your time and be careful not to just yank off the panels. The pressboard material tears easily, and the less you damage it now will save you precious time later in not having to repair it. Once the panel is off, carefully remove any wiring to the speakers and power mirror controls. Set the panel off to the side in a safe place.

Next carefully remove the front cover from the window motor, the larger black one facing you. Now look for the magnet. If you don't see it in the opening as seen in the picture below, then it has moved down the motor shaft and out of the range of the sensor. If you're lucky you can gently ease it back into place with a small screwdriver. Otherwise you'll have to take off the silver motor cover and push the magnet back into view. There is no need to completely remove the silver cover. If you do, make sure you put it back on exactly how it was assembled or the polarity will be reversed, meaning the 'up' side of the switch will make the window go down, and visa versa. Now that you've found the magnet, its time to reposition it. Usually you can see where the magnet originally sat from the clearer marks on the shaft. However as long as its in the little rectangular window it should work. If you're unsure, situate the magnet, partially assemble the covers back on and give it a try. My driver window seemed to like the magnet just a little to the right more than the passenger side. As a rule of thumb it's best to make your bimmer happy and adjust accordingly.

Once you have determined the best location for the magnet, its time to get out the epoxy. Because there is not much space to apply the glue in the plastic opening, get the epoxy that comes with a long thin plastic needle. This epoxy mixes the resin and hardener as it travels down the tube and delivers the correct ratio at the precise spot you need. Its perfect for this application. Once you have the glue ready, slide the magnet to one direction and add just a dab of epoxy to the motor shaft. Then slide the magnet to the other direction and add a dab to the shaft on the other side. Now position the magnet to the correct location and let it sit. Although the epoxy says 1 minute, that's only its initial 'set' time. It will take hours to harden, and its best to let it cure for at least 24 hours. In plain english that means that once you situate the magnet with the dabs of glue, don't move it again, and definitely don't operate the power windows for at least 24 hours.

Since you have now become an expert at the magnet job, now would be a good time to repeat all these steps on the other side of the car. The logic is if one went bad, the other may be closer than you think. When I first tackled this repair on the driver side door, I didn't worry about the passenger side because it was working fine. However a week later both windows were now only moving in increments. Figuring the epoxy did not hold and the magnet had moved, I tore apart the driver door again only to see everything looked as it should be. After wasting time checking fuses and relays, the light bulb of common sense lit up and I checked the passenger door to find its magnet had moved out of sight. Not sure why the passenger door made both windows not work correctly, but that's another unique challenge of BMW electronics. After fixing the passenger door, both sides again worked fine.

Since you have the glue handy, it is a good time to make any repairs to the door panel before the epoxy inside the tube starts to set up. However if you tore out any of the plastic trim clips, do not simply glue them to the door panel as they need a little bit of free play to reattach to the door. Depending on how bad you or the previous mechanic tore the press-board its time to be creative. For example epoxy a metal washer to the torn area to remake a solid ground for the clip. Or you can epoxy a square of outdoor-grade plastic Velcro to the panel and glue a corresponding piece of Velcro to the door itself. I tried both options with a successful hold.

As you wait the next 24 hours for everything to dry and cure, take the opportunity to feel sporty and drive your bimmer in race-car mode for the next day with the windows closed and the door panels safely tucked away under your bed. When enough time has passed re-assemble in the reverse steps as dis-assembly and be proud of a job well done. Before using the power windows for the first time, follow these steps. With the doors closed and the windows (hopefully still all the way up) turn on the ignition, then press and hold the up button on the switch, and count to ten. This will reset the motor and the memory. Try the switch, operating the windows up and down. They should work smoothly and stop at the correct location. If not repeat the reset step again.

Now go out for a drive and show off your newly repaired power windows. Drive through a couple different fast food places just so you can smile when getting your lunch, or go on the highway so you can feel happy paying the toll fee because your windows now work nicely. If you're really adventurous you can stretch out the wait time on reattaching the door panels and continue to drive in race-car mode for another few days and pretend you're in a rally car race while you're on the way to your boring job in the real world. Either way your windows should be working fine now and you're ready for another project.

VIN decoding, Diagrams, Obtaining Parts, and Online Forums.

So you've dedicated yourself to owning a classic BMW, and plan on doing most of the repairs yourself. First, take some time to know your bimmer, from its VIN, stats, production date, and anything that is unique about the car. Especially when trying to order parts, it is very important to receive the correct items. In a bind the local dealer will be able to help you, but you will pay a significant amount for that convenience. Education and preparation will save your pocketbook. Don't try to just walk blindly into a local parts shop and expect to get what you need. Either they won't have it or will special order the wrong part for you. One of the best free resources out there is http://www.realoem.com/bmw/ Enter in the last 7 digits of your VIN and get very detailed diagrams for almost everything on the car. The diagrams also have the OEM part numbers for reference. In addition, obtain a service manual as soon as possible. You can skip alot of guesswork on repairs by using an official reference source.

To decode your VIN you could go to a local delearship and ask nicely, or look online for a decoder. Don't forget to look at the plate stamped into the inside of your driver side door jam. It includes date of production which is sometimes critical in ordering the right parts. For a quick VIN decoder online try http://www.bmwarchiv.de/vin/ in German, or http://www.vehicleidentificationnumber.com/bmw.html in English. If you're good with translation you'll find the German site includes the plant location where your bimmer was produced.

For online parts I have had the best luck with PartsTrain. They were especially helpful when the listed slave cylinder they sent didn't match up. Even with part numbers, diagrams and the official service manual, every now and then something I need to repair just doesn't match up with what's in print. When that happened with PartsTrain I sent a photo via email of the slave cylinder off the 318is and one of the techs in the warehouse matched it to the right one. They sent it out asap and even sent a box to return the wrong part. Pelican Parts is also a good site.They have some very helpful technical articles for most needed E36 projects. The DIY's are detailed with photographs and clear instructions.They also carry some OEM parts at fair prices.

Online forums are additional sources of information. Most problems you encounter have been met before by other E36 owners. By running a Google search on your problem you'll find a lot of 'answers'. Read as many as you can, take notes, sort out the reasonable stuff, and proceed with caution. While some forum posters have found great solutions either from experience or trial & error, some like to take shortcuts and fix things with a sawzall, hammer, torch and duct tape. So far I've had luck finding useful answers on Bimmerforums and BimmerDIY. Each forum one seems to have its own unique personality and collective knowledge. Find a couple groups that that you can relate to and start your searches there.

Last, but not least, great places on finding resources for parts are local scrap yards. The best and most fun are the 'you pull it yourself' junk yards. Not only are these excellent sources of inexpensive parts, it gives you the ability to carefully select the parts you need. For me an afternoon in one of these pick-a-part yards is a very peaceful Zen experience, like choosing the best ripened grapes from a vineyard in making a great wine. On the flip side its also like being a kid in a candy store, and sometimes you'll end up getting many more parts than you need just to fill your, 'But really I just might need this someday' parts box at home. Best advice, take a shopping list with you before you go and just enough cash to pay for the parts you need.

Some photos around the city